Arrest warrant issued for former Brazilian president 'Lula'

SAO PAULO (AP):

A Brazilian judge issued an arrest warrant yesterday for former President Luiz In·cio Lula da Silva, dealing a major blow to the once wildly popular leader who was trying to mount a political comeback ahead of October's elections.

The warrant came several hours after the country's top body, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by da Silva to stay out of prison while he appealed a corruption conviction that he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot.

Federal judge Sergio Moro gave da Silva 24 hours to present himself to federal police in the southern city of Curitiba. In a statement, Moro said he was giving da Silva the opportunity to come in on his own accord because he had been a president of the nation.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favours with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.

The speed with which Moro issued the warrant surprised many, as legal observers said there were technicalities from da Silva's upheld appeal that would not be sorted out until next week.

Such technicalities "were simply a pathology that should be eliminated from the judicial world," Moro said in his statement.

Minutes after Moro's issue the warrant, a fight broke out in front of the Lula Institute in Sao Paulo between hecklers and supporters of the former president universally known here as Lula. One heckler was punched in the face and subsequently got hit by a passing vehicle as he was falling. He was taken to nearby hospital and police arrived.

"I've never seen this kind of hatred before," said Mariella Sanches, who was selling ice-cream where the fight broke out. "Why can't people get along?"

Da Silva's upcoming arrest will mark a colossal fall from grace for the man who led Latin America's most populous nation between 2003 and 2010, and left office with approval ratings over 80 per cent.

Former US President Barack Obama once called da Silva the "most popular politician on Earth".

Since leaving office, things have steadily got worse for da Silva, who has been charged in several corruption cases. He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country the past year.